Christianity Must Embrace Deconstruction

A critique, and a path forward for an ancient faith in a modern world

Wherever you stand on Jesus Christ, it’s hard to deny that Christianity occupies an uneasy position in the modern world. Once an unquestionable global force, it now faces skepticism, ridicule, and declining influence, particularly in the West. This shift has left the faith grappling with its identity and role in a rapidly changing cultural landscape.

One of Christianity's greatest challenges today lies in what is often labeled fundamentalism. For many—particularly within Western Protestant Evangelical circles—faith has been reduced to a rigid, unyielding belief system. Traditionally faith and intellect could live side by side for Christians, however in the modern world many of my fellow believers have a sort of "blind, idiot faith." When they encounter ideas which challenge their beliefs, instead of having the mental flexibility to say "ok maybe the idea of Christianity I grew up with isn't True, how can I grow?" they instead double down and demonize others.

This brand of "blind faith" resists challenges, doubling down on dogma rather than seeking deeper understanding. When confronted with conflicting ideas or cultural shifts, many modern Christians simply reject these outright, retreating into an "us versus them" mentality.

I'm sure when most people online think about or negatively discuss 'Christians,' this weak man version of Christianity is what they're referencing. It's a shame, because this inflexibility of thought doesn’t reflect the core of Christianity, nor is it a sustainable approach in the modern age.

It's proven extremely obvious at this point that most intellectual elites in the West are not going to be swayed by being brow beaten into Christianity. We've tried that for a long time. Hasn't worked.

It's unfortunate for fundamentalist Christians because that’s the easy strategy. The strategy of just shaming your opponents into your belief system is the default of humanity - the vast majority of religions and memes throughout history used this strategy to grow and spread.

Ironically though, the idea that we should demonize those who disagree with us is basically the exact opposite reason that Christianity grew in the first place! Scott Alexander recently posted a great article on this topic, where in reviewing the book The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark, he argues:

The impression I get from many parts of this book is that the early Christians were closer to morally perfect (from a virtue ethics point of view) than any other historical group I can think of. It can’t be a coincidence that they were also among the most successful. And the few Mormons I’ve met were also exceptionally nice (even though in theory their religion is no more based on love than traditional Christianity).

Christianity at its core has always been about Christians striving to become like Christ. Christ did not beat people over the head with dogma to convince them that He was right. He decided to condescend to share meals with sinners, prostitutes, even gasp tax collectors! Something which was so taboo for Jews at the time, it was practically unthinkable. He loved these people, He talked to them, and He helped them to understand where He was coming from.

If we want to be more like Christ, we as Christians need to formulate some new strategies.

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Living in a Postmodern World

At this point it's obvious to anyone who has eyeballs that we live in a postmodern era. Our culture has deeply embraced the rejection of absolute truths and mires everything in endless layers of complexity and nuance. While there are all sorts of problems with that, postmodernism wouldn't have taken over if there wasn't a core of good reasoning in the belief system.

Postmodernism, for all its issues, offers an essential tool: the practice of deconstruction. This means examining belief systems critically, acknowledging cultural influences, and understanding the historical context behind traditions. In the modern world, with our dramatically increased ability to spread information, learn about other cultures, and choose our own path in life, these developments were practically inevitable. In many ways they've been good - we've been able to set aside old prejudices, heal violent opposition, and grow wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of our ancestors.

Despite the positives, most Christians nowadays still view postmodernism as a threat to faith. And I mean hey, that's fair! Postmodernism and the underlying materialist worldview behind it have deeply damaged faith not just in Christianity, but in any Divine arbiter of morality whatsoever.

However, this limited perspective completely misses the golden opportunity Christianity, and any other religion founded on solid principles, has to strengthen the faith. If Christians can embrace the mental distance and complexity required in the modern world, we may find that the arguments for our faith are actually strengthened, rather than diminished by a modern understanding.

I'll speak for myself - I consider my faith postmodern or even post-rational. I was not convinced to follow Christ because I heard an evangelical tell me I was going to go to hell if I didn't. Instead, I met some Christians who were extremely good people. I decided that my own set of moral precepts wasn't really working, so I got curious enough to dive a bit deeper into what made Christianity so attractive from a historical perspective.

Some of the things I found shocked me out of my reflexive distance for Christians. I encountered René Gerard's breathtaking body of work, where he argues that Christ was a seminal figure because he exposed the scapegoating mechanism which all divine beliefs rested on - and overturned it. As someone who studied history for years in school (and even got a BA), I was persuaded that okay, at least the Christians may have a point that their guy is special. It took me a while longer to be fully convinced, but the fact that such good intellectual arguments had been made, even in the face of modernity, was crucial.

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To Rise, we Must Fall

Christians must move beyond inflexible dogma and shaming those who disagree with us. This doesn’t mean compromising on core beliefs, but it does mean being willing to see the flaws in our own arguments and the behavior of our fellows, and work to shore up those weak points.

This willingness to engage in faith critically, from a secular perspective, has already sparked a massive resurgence in interest. Thinkers like Jordan Peterson and Jonathan Pageau are drawing audiences, especially young men, to Christianity by blending psychological, anthropological, and symbolic insights with traditional teachings. They represent a "postmodern Christianity" that’s both intellectually robust and spiritually fulfilling.

What's great about their approach is that Pageau especially often relies on the Church Fathers, the cadre of luminaries in the first few centuries after Christ's death, to make his points. The Church Fathers were actually quite brilliant, and did an incredible amount of work to justify their faith via Reason.

I'm convinced that Christianity will have a renaissance, and that in fact it's already starting. The path forward won't be easy, but it's clear.

For Christ's gospel to thrive, we who follow Him must embrace flexibility, and yes, even postmodern deconstruction of our religion. This doesn’t mean abandoning faith—it means deepening it. By critically engaging with the history, culture, and anthropology surrounding the faith, Christians can find a richer understanding of their beliefs.

For those willing to brave the often corrosive fog of modern cynicism, irony, and disbelief, the potential is limitless— we can resurrect our flagging religion, and build a new faith that speaks to both the mind, and the heart. One capable of engaging a fragmented, skeptical world while remaining focused on and continuing to help others awaken to the transformative truth of Christ, the Son of God.